PlayTV to launch this September

By Ellie Gibson Published 6 May, 2008

Priced at EUR 99.

David Reeves has announced that PlayTV will launch in September, priced at EUR 99 (equivalent to around GBP 80).

For that you'll get a little black box that will allow you to record TV shows on the PS3's hard disk and watch another TV channel at the same time. Each programme you store can be exported to the XMB and stored there with other videos.

You can also watch content using Remote Play, according to Reeves. But will you be able to play a game on your PS3 at the same time as it's recording telly? The Sony boss didn't say.

He had plenty else to chat about, however - read all about it in our live text of today's PlayStation Day conference. For more on PlayTV, check out our recent preview.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Cloudane #1 4 years ago

    *drops something*

  • ram #2 4 years ago

    I wonder if Amazon will honour my £59.99 price I pre-ordered it for.

  • Cloudane #3 4 years ago

    It would be more welcome if the price was €79 - £59 but you get what you pay for.

    Is there STILL no news about the 'play games whilst recording'?

  • Rash' #4 4 years ago

    Personally looking forward to this. My PS3 will be that all encompassing entertainment hub that most on this site detest with a passion. Must go against the purity of gaming... or some elitist bull like that.

  • woodnotes #5 4 years ago

    We'll all have switched to FreeSat and be watching lovely HD before then.

  • chrisola #6 4 years ago

    shame about the smallish size of the PS3 hd drive....can it be ugraded?

    something like this should be out for the 360, the elite does have a 120gb hd after all!!

    oh, and i think playing and recording will be a big fat NO. Otherwise, they would be hyping the hell out of the product by now! :o(
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/08 @ 18:40

  • wewillselfdestruct #7 4 years ago

    I'd be kinda surprised if you can record while playing a game. Theoretically, if a game is optimised to use all of the power of the PS3, then that wouldn't leave anything for PlayTV to use. Of course games don't use the full power, but I guess it comes down to the requirements of PlayTV. I'd love to be totally wrong. Certainly wouldn't be the first time ;)

    @ chrisola
    Yep you can upgrade the HDD in a PS3 without voiding your warranty. Apparently it's very easy to do.

  • Greebo #8 4 years ago

    The price does put it in direct competition with some pretty good dedicated Freeview PVRs and owning one of them means recording TV and playing games at the same time for sure!

    That said, it has some pretty nice features (like copying off to PSP) so I think it will sell well.

    Comparing it to pay TV is pointless. Some people will never pay any more than the TV license...
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/08 @ 19:42

  • Ryze #9 4 years ago

    Ripoff.

  • Ryze #10 4 years ago

    Can someone tell me how much power the PS3 consumes while it's running please? This thing is only any good if it records during gameplay and BD viewing, and can record while the rest of the PS3 sleeps, to avoid wasting a horrendous amount of power.

    /waits 2 years...

  • Rash' #11 4 years ago

    "Some people will never pay any more than the TV license..."

    Like me. :o)

  • Ryze #12 4 years ago

    @woodnotes

    Freesat support would have made this a killer app.

  • Andy247 #13 4 years ago

    This is a poxy Freeview box, the HDD is in the PS3 so why is it costing so much? It's because they know that some morons are still going to buy it. Anything more than £25 was going to be a massive profit margin, but to charge more than £40-50 is robbery.

  • nbnz #14 4 years ago

    @mem. Yes Sky HD is better and it a) costs a lot more for initial purchase and b) has ongoing monthly costs. The PlayTV does not. They are completely different products aimed at different people. And the PS3 hard drive is user replaceable at reasonable cost.

  • Greebo #15 4 years ago

    "This is a poxy Freeview box"

    Physically, maybe. But the software and functionality is way ahead of a £25 job.

    £25 won't get you easy transfer to portable devices or PC, remote play etc.

    I think for existing PS3 owners it's worth comparing against a £100 PVR. The possibility that you can't use it when playing games is going to be the main deal breaker for some.

    I mean, it's nice to time shift TV precisely because you feel like playing games, but don't want to miss some of the shows whilst you play!
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/08 @ 20:28

  • White_Westie #16 4 years ago

    looking forward to this, especially the remote play features.... really opens up the world being able to watch programs you have recorded on your ps3 from your psp wireless network....(albeit you need a fixed i.p to access from somewhere in the world)

    This Means I can finally give the psp to the wife when we are on holiday and she can watch some corrie whilst I go to the bar for a nice cold pint with out her nagging me.... Best get a backup one as well just in case! ;-)
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/08 @ 21:14

  • tripitaka #17 4 years ago

    2 tuners, so it's more like 2 freeview boxes...

  • bdgr #18 4 years ago

    It's a possible for me... not got a ps3 yet - would get one for the blu-ray and this more than the games if i'm honest. maybe.

  • sargemat #19 4 years ago

    fucking rip off. You can get a Freeview box for half that, which will do the same job.

  • mkreku #20 4 years ago

    That's a bit costly, isn't it? I wonder if it'll have some unique features for that price?

  • 3william56 #21 4 years ago

    Jeez, the morons are out in force today. Not reading the article, and not even reading the existing comments, and still feel the need to spill cr*p.

    The only question about this is the recording whilst playing games or movies issue.
    If yes, sold. If no, the remote play and one box entertainment solution isn't enough to make it worth it.
    Cute interface though. Wonder if that's a clue to the XMB becoming a XM ring in the next firmware update.

  • chrisjm #22 4 years ago

    LOL you can buy a HDD recorder for this at argos so online no doubt even cheaper

  • canIdoyabombsforya #23 4 years ago

    But Blu-ray is the future right?

  • JaysonG #24 4 years ago

    price isn't too bad I'd get one if they could convince me to buy a PS3.